In this generation of eSports, gamers can actually earn money by just playing. While most would get them through sponsorships, views from YouTube videos, and donations from Twitch, the professionals get them from competitions and tournaments. Like an actual sport, they are paid to stay with the team and get paid even more when they win. Not all eSports give out the same average prizes though, and some give out more than the rest. It is safe to say that the more popular the game is, the bigger the prize pool can be.

That said, with DotA 2 gaining recognition worldwide, professionals can expect to win big prizes in the professional scene. In fact, doing a bit of research would already tell you that the prize pools of DotA 2 tournaments is a lot larger than many others. The biggest prize pool that their rival League of Legends (LoL 2016 World Championships) has brought up, is only a half of the DotA 2’s International 2014, amounting to $10,000,000. During the succeeding years, the prize grew bigger. The International 2015 reached up to $18 million, 2016 at $20 million, and finally 2017 at $24 million.

DotA 2’s International, the biggest competition for the game, is not the only tournament where players can earn a lot. Checking the top 10 eSports leagues and competitions, DotA 2 fills every spot except the 5th place belonging to the aforementioned 2016 LoL World Championships. The rest of the positions are the following:

DAC Major 2015 ($3.05 million)

The Frankfurt Major 2015 ($3 million)

The Boston Major 2016 ($3 million)

The Manila Major 2016 ($3 million)

The Kiev Major, 2017 ($3 million)

The lowest prize pool that DotA 2 gathered was back with the i-League Season 1 at $308 thousand. That is even higher than Overwatch’s biggest prize at $300 thousand during the Overwatch Open (2016).